One Piece: The Tournament of Legends
by UnseenAssailant
Summary: A story about the Straw Hats getting mixed up in a fighting tournament. It is set five weeks after my other One Piece fanfiction, Fit or Fat? There will be small references to it during this story but it doesn't matter if you haven't read it. Lots of fighting and stuff so that's why it's T rated.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Back with another One Piece fanfiction, this is set five weeks after my previous fanfiction, Fit or Fat? I'm hoping this will last much longer than that, so expect it to go on for a while. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy it :)**

The Tournament of Legends

Chapter 1

The Thousand Sunny sailed onwards towards the elusive island. It had been weeks since the Straw Hats had seen so much as a rock and yet Nami's log pose was, as always, sure of its destination. They had run out of food in the first two weeks, mostly because of Luffy, but slightly because Nami had still been working on her shape. Of course, three weeks of no food meant that they had all slimmed down quite a bit, except Brook, although he still said things like "I'm so hungry it feels like my stomach will cave in!" always followed by "Ah! But as a skeleton, I don't have a stomach. Yohohohoho!"

Currently, the crew were lying around, barely able to move and overall just feeling depressed.

"Sanji..." moaned Luffy desperately. "I'm hungry!"

"I can't just make food appear! It's your fault for eating everything before we got to an island to resupply!"

"It wasn't just me!" the captain protested. "Nami ate loads!"

"Why, you! Don't blame this all on Nami-san!" Sanji almost kicked Luffy but he didn't have the energy.

"Oi, Nami," Luffy called the navigator, completely forgetting his argument with Sanji. "You need a haircut."

"Don't bother a lady about her appearance!" roared Sanji. Then in his overly-loving voice, "Don't worry, Nami-swan, you look beautiful!"

Nami scowled and shouted at Luffy "How can I get a haircut in the middle of the ocean?"

"Everyone else has," Usopp helpfully pointed out. The others had been using Zoro's swords to trim their hair during the five weeks of its growth. Even Robin had allowed it, which was surprising. Nami, however, was having nothing to do with it.

"I'M NOT LETTING THAT IDIOT STICK THAT THING ANYWHERE NEAR MY HEAD!" she screamed. "But, guys, I got some good news. You see that faint shape on the horizon?" Everyone looked.

"IT'S AN ISLAND!" they cheered. Sure enough, a darkening silhouette of an island was forming in front of them. As soon as they landed, they could smell the wonderful aromas of a market and they could see a bustling town with plenty of food. Just what they needed! In the centre of the town was a huge, stone coliseum. It towered above everything else but even that failed to distract the Straw Hats from their most important goal: get something to eat. They ran to the nearest food stall which happened to sell meat. Throwing the shopkeeper a bag of stolen berries, they emptied the stall, savouring the juicy taste. Franky also bought some cola, since he had been running low on power for a while.

"Mmm... SUPEERRRRR!" he roared triumphantly. It had been too long.

After the Straw Hats had refilled their malnourished bodies, they decided to explore the town. They needed to restock other supplies so they'd have to look around.

"Oooh, look how many clothes shops there are!" Nami exclaimed.

"That's not why we're here," replied Zoro, a little annoyed by this.

Nami smirked. "You're just jealous cause you've not got any money."

"What?!"

"But don't worry, I'll let you borrow some. I'll need interest back though," she added with a wink she knew would annoy Zoro.

"Grrr, you little-"

"Hey, guys," called Usopp. "Check this out!" He pointed to a poster stuck to a wooden post.

It read "THE TOURNAMENT OF LEGENDS." And below were a picture of two crossed swords and some smaller writing. "Come to see high-bounty pirates fight for victory! (20,000 berries per person)"

"Wow, that looks awesome!" exclaimed Luffy, bounding over to the poster.

Nami was less impressed. "It's kinda expensive..."

"LET'S GO!" The captain's order was absolute. Only Nami was complaining anyway, the others agreed it looked fun.

"But where is it?" Chopper asked, checking the sign.

"It must be that huge coliseum in the middle of the town," Robin observed. Chopper wished he'd thought of that. They headed off towards the giant building, not one of them aware of a figure watching them from the darkness of an alleyway.

"The Straw Hat Pirates?" the figure drawled with relish. He checked the nine wanted posters in his hands. There was no mistaking. "Interesting..." He then disappeared into the alleyway, down some forgotten passage.

On their way to the Tournament, the Straw Hats got some weird looks from the townspeople. They _were_ an odd group. As they approached the coliseum, they realised their were two entrances. A woman in a dark blue uniform came up to them and said "Please, this way." She ushered them into the left entrance, which seemed to be otherwise unused, which the more observant crewmembers, i.e. everyone but Luffy, thought was a bit strange. They walked through a short tunnel until it opened up to a large, circular room with about seventy doors lining the rounded wall. A man wearing the same outfit as the woman who sent them here looked up from a small desk.

He asked in a low monotonous voice "Are you the Straw Hat Pirates?" He sounded as though he had spent a long time here.

Usopp laughed. "No, we're the other group with a talking reindeer, a cyborg, a skeleton and a kid with a straw hat."

"I see. Unfortunately, I am waiting for the Straw Hat Pirates so you'll have to wait a bit longer," the receptionist said dully.

"Huh? I was being sarcastic!" Usopp said, surprised by this disappointing lack of humour. Even _Zoro_ at least _understood_ the joke.

"Yes, we are the Straw Hat Pirates," Zoro cut in. "What of it?"

"Well, you see, we have been expecting and awaiting your arrival," the receptionist replied. "You are probably aware of the Tournament of Legends? Well, you have been entered to participate in it."

The pirates stared at him for a moment. Then "WHAAAAAT?!" screamed Usopp, Nami and Chopper.

Nami yelled "How could you say something so evil so calmly?!"

"Oh man!" shouted Luffy. "I didn't expect that!" He started laughing. Nami punched him.

"Who's gonna make us take part in your tournament?" Zoro challenged, hand on his katana.

The man held his hands up in alarm, his first display of any emotion. "Did I mention that there was a prize?"

Nami suddenly lifted herself from her depression. "Prize?"

"That's right! 500,000,000 berries!"

"Right, we're in!"

Luffy cheered. "Oooh, a competition!"

"Wonderful," said the man, clearly not finding much to wonder about. "Past all these doors, a participant will stay. There is also a coach and advisor to help you plan your strategies. I will show you each your doors, your advisor will explain everything else." He showed each of them to their doors and, one by one, they disappeared into the cavernous depths.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Chapter 2 is finally done, whew. I would've finished it sooner but exams have started and, well, you know what they're like (probably). Anyway, hope you enjoy it and thanks for reading :)**

The Tournament of Legends

Chapter 2

Luffy raced through the tunnel, unable to contain his excitement. He was being made to fight, not just for free, but he was getting _paid_ for it! The only thing cooler than that was getting paid to eat meat but this was a close second. Again, the passage widened and he found a man sitting with his back turned at a table, apparently on his lunch break. He turned slowly and gave Luffy a grin.

"Straw Hat himself..." he said, looking the boy up and down. Luffy gave a start when he saw who was staring right at him. An old man with a long white beard and a calm face. He wore a white gi with a black belt and had atop his head a rice hat. He looked like a... like a...

"Good morning, Sensei-ossan!" Luffy bowed politely. He had a real ninja sensei to coach him! Luffy was so mindblown that he forgot about how meat would be better. The man bowed back.

"Good morning. My name is Cuthbert. I will be your coach and advisor for the Tournament of Legends. I believe you know a few details but I will explain fully." Cuthbert began his explanation. "Firstly, you will be competing against sixty-three contestants. The winner will receive a prize of 500,000,000 berries. The top thirty-two contestants will be free to leave and continue their journeys. The remaining thirty-two will have to stay for the next tournament in a month's time." Luffy wasn't really paying attention but he nodded when it seemed to be needed. Cuthbert knew he wasn't listening but he kept that to himself. "In order to win a match, you must beat your opponent to the point where they cannot fight. This may lead to some deaths but that's OK. One question I have for you is do you have any weapons?"

"Nope," grinned the rubberman. "I use my hands to fight. My punch is as strong as a pistol!" The old man chuckled.

"I see. Is it that strong without your devil fruit?"

"Huh? Uh... I guess. Why?" Luffy asked, confused.

"Well, I guess I should tell you. The arena is lined with kairouseki." the sensei revealed ominously. "That dulls devil fruit powers, by the way."

"WHAT?!" Luffy screamed. "I can't stretch?!"

"Don't worry, child," Cuthbert soothed gently. "I have spare weapons here. Take your pick." He gestured to a rack of various weapons including swords, spears, bows and even rifles as well as other things. Luffy stared intensely at the rack trying to choose his favourite. How had he fought before he could control his rubber powers? He smiled, remembering that time with his brothers. The rubberman reached for a metal pole, almost as tall as him. He did a few practice swings, striking invisible enemies. He grinned.

"Looks like I still got it!"

"Hmm... That was resolved quickly," the old man murmured. "Anyway, now is the time to train. There is always time to train!"

"Heeheehee, you sound like Zoro!"

XXX

Zoro strolled down the corridor, not rushing at all. It wasn't like he needed much preparation; he didn't expect much of the other contestants, considering they entered Nami and Usopp. _Oh, well. I guess if I can't have a good challenge then I'll still get the prize money. Probably buy some booze or something. After paying my debt to Nami. I can't have that annoying woman follow me around for it forever, I guess._ He saw the entrance to a wider room and walked through, only to find himself back at the receptionist desk.

"Oh, your back," the receptionist said. "Did you get cold feet or something?" Zoro gritted his teeth. How had he got here?

"No!" he gave the man an icy stare. He stomped back to the tunnel, concentrating very carefully on going forwards. He knew if he turned even slightly he'd end up back at the entrance again. Eventually, he made it and sighed in relief.

"Sup, man," came a voice, making Zoro jump in shock.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?!" he roared. "WHERE EVEN ARE YOU?!"

"Whoa, whoa, take a chill pill, dude," a man about the swordsman's age stepped, no, _strutted_ , out of the shadows. He was wearing a white tank top, baggy jeans, Den Den Mushi headphones and a pair of rather snazzy shades that completely covered his eyes. Zoro could tell just by looking at him that he'd be annoying.

"You're my coach?" he asked in disbelief.

"Sure am, man. This tourny's gonna be sick, yo!"

"Oi, idiot, can you even fight?" Zoro demanded, hoping this guy could at least do that.

"Dude," said the man with an annoyingly patronising tone. "Why do I need to know how to fight? You're the one who's gonna be in the arena!"

"BUT YOU'RE MY COACH!" Zoro yelled, completely losing it.

"Yo, are you admitting that the world-famous, top-notch, on-point Pirate Hunter Zoro needs me to teach him to walk? That's pretty heavy, man." The man smirked. "Yo, you've not even asked me my name yet. I'm hurt deep."

"Well? What is it?"

"Yo, my name's DJ TJ, man! Imma help you win this, dude!"

Zoro snorted. "That's kinda hard to remember, I'll just stick with 'idiot'."

"That's kinda peak, man," TJ's face fell. "But whatevs, we got a tourny to win! So, uh, you can train now. Here's the table of all the matches, man," he added, handing Zoro a piece of paper.

XXX

Nami walked along the passage, peering into the darkness. "Uh... hello?" she called, hoping she would find this "coach" she was supposed to meet. She saw a light and hurried towards it; it was kind of cold in the tunnel. Nami found herself in a room quite a bit smaller than the first room but similarly shaped. She looked around and saw a table and a few chairs, all made of wood. She also saw a load of paperwork on the table and a few scrunched up papers in a nearby bin. Right in front of her however, was a man. He was very small, the only thing making him taller than Chopper was the pointed, wide-brimmed hat on his head. He had a white beard that ended in three points and he wore a tattered grey robe. He held a walking stick that looked like it was still a living branch.

"A-a wizard?" the navigator stammered. She had not expected this.

"Ah! You're here," he said.

"Who are you?" Nami asked.

"Hopefully by now, you know you have been entered into the Tournament of Legends. I am here to prepare you and make sure you win!" the 'wizard' explained. "You may call me 'Sensei'."

Nami raised her eyebrows. "You're my coach? I assumed you were my mascot."

"My dear child," Sensei replied, slightly offended. "Dwarfism is nothing to joke about. You aren't particularly tall yourself." Nami considered this. She _was_ the second shortest in the crew, unless Chopper was in Heavy Point, of course. But this guy made her look like _Brook._

"Yeah, I guess," she said, keeping her thoughts to herself.

"Anyway," the wizard continued. "Let me explain the tournament rules. Firstly, there are sixty-four competitors, including you. The first round will be splitting you into sixteen groups of four. The winners of each group will move on to the next round, which will be a single match against another winner from Round 1. This will continue until there are only two contestants left. Then they will have a match and the overall winner will receive the 500,000,000 berry cash prize!" Nami's eyes sparkled just hearing that number. Soooo much money! "Of, course, it will be tough competition, so you'll have to train hard. I will assist you whenever I am needed."

"Thanks," Nami replied. She needed all the help she could get to ensure she won that prize!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Ahhhh, finally did Chapter 3. It's half term now so hopefully they will be more frequent for a bit. Just wanted to point out, the Scarlett in this story is not the Scarlet from canon One Piece. I did not know she existed when I created Scarlett (in fact, I'm so behind on the series, she's not even appeared yet.) Anyway, I also realised it might be hard to come up with 55 OCs for the tournament (plus 9 for the coaches) so if you want to suggest your own OCs then I might use them in it. I might also bring back characters from the series that are kind of no longer relevant. Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading :)**

The Tournament of Legends

Chapter 3

Usopp crept along the passage, shivering, perhaps because of fear or because he was cold. He was just glad no-one could see him like that. The dim lighting and narrow passage bothered him and he felt rather exposed. When was the last time he'd been alone like this? Oh yeah, when he was chasing that pink-haired ghost girl in Thriller Bark. He defeated her majestically, he remembered proudly. Then again, he didn't want to go through that again...

He reached a wider opening and peered out, gripping Kabuto tightly. The room wasn't nearly as terrifying as he had suspected so then he just felt stupid. There was a desk and a few chairs scattered around but that was about it. He walked over to the desk and saw some papers he assumed had something to do with this "tournament". He picked up what appeared to be a chart of all the matches and contestants. Someone had decided to draw a picture on the back. It was a happy-looking girl in a simple standing pose.

"Huh, not bad," Usopp breathed, having an eye for art himself.

"Really? You think so?" Usopp looked up from the drawing and into the grinning face of another girl, slightly younger than he was.

"Eeeyaaaaahh!" he screamed, all feelings of insecurity returning in an instant. He paused to get a better look at her. She had light ginger hair, a sleeveless green top, pink shorts and a tattoo of the letters "se" on her right shoulder. But Usopp could hardly see any of it because of her distracting, emerald eyes. He stared into them for a second, before remembering what was going on. "Hey, who the hell are you?" he yelled, trying to be menacing but clearly failing.

"My name's Scarlett," the girl replied. "I'm you're coach for the tournament." Usopp didn't like the way she said that, as if it was obvious, probably because it should have been obvious. "I'm glad you like my drawing. I was getting a bit bored, so y'know, it kinda went from there."

"Uhh... right." Usopp wasn't quite sure how to respond to this, so he simply asked "Who's that girl? The one in the picture?"

"Oh, just a friend. She's in my crew. I'm a pirate by the way."

"A pirate, huh? This place employs pirates? Are you even old enough?" Usopp found this hard to believe.

"I doubt it, but I'm only here temporarily. One of our nakama's in the tournament so I'm just making sure she's OK."

"I see."

"Anyway," the girl continued, remembering her job. "I'm gonna explain the rules so you have a chance at this. Not that you'll beat my friend, of course." Usopp found he didn't really want to know Scarlett's "friend". "So, basically, there are sixty-four of you guys and you're all gonna compete for a prize. The first round is in sixteen blocks, the winners of each will compete until there's one person left." Usopp thought about all that. He wasn't sure he wanted sixty-three enemies, even if eight of them were his friends... He wondered if they would have to compete against eachother. He cringed at the though of him fighting Zoro. "This is probably a good time to mention this so I'll just say it now," Scarlett announced. "I know you're Sogeking."

"What?" Usopp hoped he heard her wrong.

"There's no point denying it," she continued. "The name that was entered into this thing was Sogeking anyway, so if you go out there and tell everyone you're someone else, they won't believe you."

 _Crap._ "Uhhh... I'm not Sogeking, I'm his friend. If you aren't looking for me then I should probably just leave..." Usopp turned only to be pulled back.

"Look, "Sogeking's Friend", don't think you can fool me." The girl grabbed his satchel and rummaged through it. Triumphantly, she pulled out the mask Usopp had worn as Sogeking. "Ha! Proof!" Usopp sighed.

"Just don't tell anyone, please," he groaned.

"Don't worry, I won't," Scarlett agreed. "But in preparation for the tournament, I made some upgrades to your outfit," she said, pulling Usopp to a cupboard against the wall and opened it. Inside was a sight that made Usopp's mouth drop. The outfit was _similar_ to his original, but clearly had a lot more work put into it. His was just a mask and cloak, _this_ was much cooler. It had thin armour, made of leather with metal on top. It had pouches for all his ammo and Dials. It even had a nice colour scheme to match his mask, which Scarlett now placed on the head of the armour stand, completing it. Usopp forgot everything he disliked about the girl.

"That's awesome!" he smiled.

XXX

Sanji wandered along the tunnel, trying to see more than two metres in front of him. He even took out his cigarette for a while, testing if it was just the smoke getting in the way. On deciding it wasn't, however, he placed it back in his mouth. He soon reached the end of the tunnel and he was surprised by how much lighter the bigger room was.

"Oi, anyone around?" Sanji called. That idiot receptionist had said there would be someone waiting for him. So where were they?

"Yes, yes, I'm here," replied a gruff voice. Sanji turned, not quite alarmed, and saw a middle-aged fishman in a plain shirt and shorts. He was also wearing sandals. Sanji guessed he was a pufferfish fishman, based on the spines all over his body and slightly bulgy cheeks. His face was friendly enough, which Sanji was glad of as it seemed he would be spending a lot of time with this guy.

"So you're my coach, right?" Sanji asked.

"I'm here to guide you to victory and to be a friend for you to rely on in this pain-filled time." the fishman replied solemnly.

"Right, well, thanks," the cook said, looking to lighten the apparently dark mood. "Uhhh... I hear you're gonna tell me more about this tournament."

"Of course!" the fishman snapped to attention. "Right, so, in this tournament, you will face many foes, assuming you survive your battles, anyway. You will have to be observant of your enemy, as each one will fight differently." This made sense. Sanji made a mental note to work out each opponent's fighting style before he went to attack.

"Alright, and what's your name?"

"Craig."

"Ah."

XXX

"It's OK, I'm OK..." Chopper repeated over and over, creeping down the stony passage. He knew the others would be going through the same thing and he could not let them down by not doing what they could. He saw the lightened entrance to a large room, made of the same stone bricks as the tunnel. He saw that in the room were a desk, a chair and a big glass tank filled with water. The transparent walls only went up a metre above the ground but as he approached it cautiously, he could see it went below much deeper. Something else caught Chopper's eye, though, as he peered down the darkening blue depths. It looked as though something was _moving_ down there. Moving towards him. Chopper tried to scream, but caught himself at the last minute when he saw what was actually in the tank. It was shiny, grey and had a smiling face.

"A dolphin?" The reindeer gaped at the dolphin and it started squeaking at him. Being an animal himself, Chopper could understand the creature's speech. "You're my coach?" he repeated with disbelief. The dolphin nodded. "And your name is... _Devlin?_ " Chopper could not believe his ears. His coach was a dolphin named Devlin. Really? The dolphin squeaked again, explaining the rules of the tournament. The reindeer nodded, understanding the rules. The last thing Devlin said worried him, though. "I-I can't use my devil fruit powers in the arena? But that means I'll have to fight really strong pirates in Walk Point, my normal reindeer form." Walk Point was unfortunately one of Chopper's weakest forms. It was great for speed and long distances but these were one-on-one matches they were talking about, not races. He guessed his Rumble Ball wouldn't be much help either, since it relied on his shape-shifting too much. He'd have to practice fighting in Walk Point then...

Devlin squeaked again, informing Chopper that he believed in him and knew he would win. Chopper smiled. "Thanks, I hope so."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: OK, I'm back. I've been really busy which is why this took so long. But anyway, here it is. My exams finish next week so hopefully these will be less stretched out. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy it :)**

The Tournament of Legends

Chapter 4

Robin walked silently down the corridor. She did most things silently. It was kind of a habit from her twenty years as a runaway criminal. As she stepped through an entrance to a wider room, however, she couldn't help but gasp at the figure standing before her. Robin had never seen so much green in her life.

The girl she saw had green boots, a green skirt, a green t-shirt, a green hoodie, green hair and green eyes. Even her skin was green, although Robin suspected that was not its natural colour.

"Hey!" the girl greeted Robin cheerily.

"Hello, miss," Robin returned politely. "Do you know where my coach might be?"

"Yep, that's me!"

"You?"

"Me!"

Robin paused. "I'm not sure you look old enough for that kind of job." The girl turned almost as red as she was green.

"I sure as hell AM old enough! I'm seventeen! So there!" The girl seemed to like shouting and Robin decided it wasn't a good idea to push her further.

"Fair enough, I apologise for interrupting."

"Anyway," the girl continued. "It'd be wise to listen to me, since I assume it's in your best interests to stay alive."

"You'd be correct."

"So, what the tournament is, is a bunch of fights between sixty-four contestants, including yourself, to win lots of money." She paused for effect.

"Excuse me, Namanamashī-chan, but how is the tournament structured?"

Ignoring her new nickname, the girl answered. "The first round is where you are split into sixteen groups of four and you each battle every other player in your group. The one with the most points goes through to battle a winner from a different group and that goes on until there's only one person left."

"I see. Are the other contestants good?"

"Depends. Some rely too heavily on their devil fruit powers so they can't do much here-"

"What? Why can't devil fruit users do much here?" Robin suddenly worried.

"Didn't you know? The arena is made of kairouseki. Devil fruits don't work there." She then got a good look at Robin, her eyes hovering over her face. "You're Nico Robin, aren't you?" Robin nodded. "Oh crap! You don't fight at all without your powers!" Robin agreed this was not convenient.

"I'm sure we'll figure something out," she said calmly, wondering why she was reassuring her _coach_. "Do you have any weapons?" she asked. The green girl nodded and pointed to a shelf of random weapons piled on top of eachother. Robin pulled out two flintlock pistols. She could aim fairly well, she had used them during her escape from Water Seven. Not that she actually fired one, but still, she _could._

"Do you mind if I use these, Namanamashī-chan?"

"Sure, whatever," the girl replied. "You'd better practice though, it won't be easy out there."

 **A/N: "Namanamashī" is Japanese for "lively" which is a synonym for "green"**

* * *

Franky strode purposefully down the dark tunnel. He was excited for this tournament and was SUPER ready for it. The cyborg noticed a light ahead with satisfaction. That must be where his coach was. As he stepped into the wide stone room, he took in everything that looked important.

A desk, a few chairs, a high ceiling and a pair of eyes shrouded in darkness. They glowed blue with an intense stare.

"Uhhh... hi!" he tried. The eyes did not speak, only moved forwards as their owner stepped towards Franky. The figure wore a hooded robe that concealed its face in shadow. The robe itself was a royal purple and had gold markings around the edges. It looked expensive.

"Welcome to the Tournament of Legends," the figure said in a synthesised voice. It was clear that under the hood was a mask.

"Thanks," Franky replied, grinning. "That's a _super_ outfit you're wearing by the way."

"That's very kind of you..." The figure was probably not expecting to be complimented on his clothes. He recomposed himself. "Ahem, my name is Koganerōbu. I take it you are Franky?"

"Yeah. Koganerōbu... that's kind of a mouthful, I'll stick with Kogo-kun." The hood didn't refuse so Franky took it as a yes.

"The tournament is putting you against pirates from all over the Grand Line," Kogo continued, not one to waste time. "There are sixty-four of them and you must beat them to reach the end and win first place. You will receive 5,000,000 berries for your efforts. The fact you use weapons and not a devil fruit will prove useful as the arena nullifies devil fruit powers." This took Franky by surprise. On the one hand, that made things easier for him. On the other hand, four of his crewmates had devil fruits, although Brook's wasn't used for combat so it shouldn't be a problem for him. Well, they'd find a way. Just like always.

"Alright," he said. "What happens now?"

"You prepare."

"Oh." Franky wondered what exactly preparing meant for him but he decided a refill on cola would be a good start. "Hey, Kogo-kun, where's the cafeteria?"

* * *

Brook was rather unsettled as he walked through the unlit passage. Strange, since he had spent fifty years living in the darkness. The light at the end relaxed him, however, and he walked faster when he saw it.

"Oh, the light fills my heart with joy! Ah, but as a skeleton, I have no heart. Yohohohoho!"

"Hahaha."

Brook jumped at the laughter that did not come from his own mouth.

"That was hilarious!" Brook jumped again and turned around to see the most beautiful woman he had ever set his eyes on. Except he didn't have eyes, of course. His jaw dropped. Her jaw dropped.

" _An angel!_ " Brook gasped.

" _A demon!_ " the woman squealed.

They both took a minute to calm down.

"I'm not a demon, I am a human," Brook corrected. "Most of one, anyway. The important bits. But... may I see your panties?"

The girl's face reddened and as she turned away in embarrassment, Brook noticed a pair of soft, white, feathery wings.

"Yes, I'm not a demon but you _are_ an angel!" Brook's skull managed to look mesmerized by the wings.

"Yeah..." the angel replied. "I come from Skypiea. They're kinda common up there."

"Ah, that makes sense." Brook was so happy to have this girl for a coach that he hadn't noticed their juxtaposing appearances. The angel had.

"It's funny... how we're working together. Y'know, cause angels are a symbol of life and skeletons are, well, the symbol of death."

"I suppose." It _was_ strange. "But, still, may I see your-"

"Why do you keep asking that?" the girl interrupted him. "You don't know a thing about me, not even my name, and yet you want to see something I wouldn't show anyone?"

Brook thought a moment for a suitable answer. "I suppose... I feel like I know you just by seeing your beauty." The girl blushed slightly, then remembered an important fact she should know before letting this go any further.

"Soooo... how old are you?"

"Eighty-eight years." There was an awkward silence.

"Whaaa?! This is too weird!" she cried.

"Well, anyway," Brook tried changing the subject. "What _is_ your name?"

The girl stopped. "Airashī."

"What a lovely name..."

"So, being your coach, I'm gonna tell you how the tournament works," Airashī said hurriedly.

"Oh, yes! The tournament! I forgot!"

"Well, anyway, what happens is that you fight other guys to win a prize, to begin with, you've got to get the most points out of a group of four. There are sixteen groups and each winner will continue in single knockout matches. Oh, one more thing. You can't use devil fruits in the fights."

"Ehhhh?! But my life depends on a devil fruit!"

"What?"

"Did you not think it strange that I am nothing more than bones? I ate the Yomi Yomi no Mi which gave me a second life!"

"But, you have the second life now, so shouldn't it be fine?" Airashī looked worried.

"I hope so. This isn't how I want to die."

"Will it affect your combat?"

"No, that's fine. I am a swordsman, I don't use anything but that." This fact made them both a little calmer. "I should probably train though. I haven't been in a battle for over five weeks."

"Uh... yeah, sure," the angel replied, still a bit overwhelmed by everything that happened since the skeleton walked into the room.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Here is Chapter 5! Sorry it took a while, I've just been busy with school and stuff. Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy it :)**

The Tournament of Legends

Chapter 5

At the mess hall, the Straw Hat Pirates were gathered around a round table, talking about everything that just happened. The rest of the contestants were also there but on separate tables.

"Guys, I'm so excited!" Luffy said through a mouthful of meat.

"Yeah," Zoro agreed. "This is gonna be one hell of a tournament. He had been looking around at all of his opponents and ,to his satisfaction, they looked like they could put up a decent fight.

"Hey," Chopper turned to Luffy. "What are you doing about the no devil fruits rule?"

"I'm using a weapon," Luffy replied. "I used to fight with a pole when I was a kid so I'll just go back to that for now."

"Wow..." Chopper couldn't imagine Luffy using a weapon-based fighting style.

"I'm using weapons, also," Robin added. "Dual flintlock pistols."

"What, really?" Chopper exclaimed. Robin nodded.

"Robin-chan would look so sexy using pistols!" Sanji said, his arms and legs wiggling around.

"I wonder what I should do?" Chopper thought out loud. "In my Walk Point, I can't really hold anything so weapons like that wouldn't really work for me."

Luffy put a hand on his doctor's shoulder and grinned brightly. "Don't worry, Chopper. You'll figure it out!"

Tears welled in the reindeer's eyes. "Luffy! Thank you for always believing in me!"

"Anyway," Nami said. "One of us had better win this prize for me so try as hard as you can."

"For you?" Zoro questioned.

"That's right. If we _lose_ , then you will feel more pain than you have ever felt." The swordsman gritted his teeth. One day that woman was going to find herself on the wrong end of his katana! Not today though...

"I'LL WIN IT FOR YOU NAMI-SWAN!" Sanji cried, hearts in his eyes.

"Oi, Usopp," Luffy called his friend. He had noticed Usopp was unusually quiet at lunch. "Are you ready for the awesomeness coming soon?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah!"

"I can't wait to see you fighting! You really have cool moments occasionally."

Usopp gulped. "Ah, well, uh... actually, I'm not a contestant!" he announced, finding the words. "In fact, I'm one of the coaches!"

"Really?" Luffy and Chopper asked. "Who are you coaching?" The others sweatdropped. They knew what was coming.

"Well, you'll be excited to hear that I'm coaching the one and only SOGEKING!"

"WOW!" The two youngest crewmembers' eyes sparkled.

"Is that the best you could come up with?" Zoro sighed.

"Hey, what else could I say? Somehow my coach knew I was him, so I've gotta wear the mask whether I'm called Usopp or Sogeking," the liar hissed back.

"'Somehow', huh?" Nami groaned.

"Wow, I can't wait to see Sogeking back in action, he's even cooler than Usopp!" Luffy said eagerly.

"Oi!" Usopp was mildly offended by this.

"Anyway," Sanji raised his voice slightly. "The timetable's here." He pulled out a piece of paper. "Looks like the marimo's the first of us to fight. This afternoon, in fact." Zoro grinned. It had been five weeks since his katana last saw some action and he was itching for a fight.

"What time?"

"4:30. You sure you're up for it, Marimo?"

"Damn right, I am, Love-cook!"

"Hey, save it for the arena, idiots!" Nami shouted, punching them both on the head. "We'd better watch the first one, just so we know what it's like. It's in five minutes so we should hurry."

* * *

The Straw Hats had found seats and were waiting for the battle to start. The arena was fairly big, about seventy metres in diameter. At each end was a metal gate, most likely where the contestants would come out. Like the coaches had said, the walls were built out of kairouseki and the devil fruit users had felt their powers fade as soon as they arrived. A voice suddenly began talking, probably from Den Den Mushis hidden around the place.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the battle is about to begin!" The crowd cheered in delight.

"May I present to you two dangerous pirates. First, a man known for his accuracy in knife-throwing, with a bounty of 72,000,000 berries, it's "Quickblade" Daggar!" The crowd cheered again as one gate opened to reveal a small but muscular man whose clothes were so tightly packed with knives, it was hard to tell what colour they were.

"And next, this man has been gaining strength so fast it's unnatural! He's only just been noticed my the World Government who decided to give him a bounty of 134,000,000 berries! It's, of course, "The Deathblow" Devin!" More applause. The other gate opened and out strode a hulking beast of a man wearing nothing more than a pair of torn shorts. It didn't look like anything would have fitted him anyway.

"Wow," Nami breathed. "They don't make this fair, do they?"

"We're pirates. It doesn't have to be fair," Usopp said matter-of-factly, although he was shaking uncontrollably.

"Now let the battle begin in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, FIGHT!" Automatically, Devin charged at Daggar, who nimbly jumped out the way. While in the air, Daggar threw three blades at once towards his opponent. Unable to move as fast, the huge man lifted his arm in front of his body and let the knives sink into his flesh. Daggar didn't expect this and he leapt out of the way of Devin's quick counterattack. He let fly another round of daggers which found their place in Devin's other arm, causing red blood to seep through the wounds. Apparently, the man didn't not care about the pain, as without flinching, he ran at the smaller fighter and grabbed his arm. He then proceeded to bash Daggar against the ground continuously until finally he let go. Daggar did not get up.

"It seems we have a winner! Congratulations to the Deathblow, who won the first match of the tournament!"

Devin looked up at the audience and held up his fists with a grin.

"That was... _brutal_ ," Nami wailed, suddenly not so sure she wanted to be here.

"That took... two minutes!" Usopp gasped, very sure he did not want to be here.

"Zoro," Chopper moaned. "He's in your block."

"Yeah?" Zoro asked gruffly. "That's just bad luck for him then, isn't it?"

After they left the arena, the Straw Hats headed back to their coaches. Zoro trained for the next two hours, until he was called by some guy to come to the arena. He noticed things felt rather different on the other side of the metal gate. He looked out at the crowd and spotted his crew, some looking nervous, others excited. He smirked. Of course they were.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the battle will start soon!" The crowd cheered at this. "First, I must present to you the following two contestants. First, a man who was once against all pirates but has become an icon among them, his sword skills are demonic, as he is a santoryuu user, with a bounty of 120,000,000 berries, it's Roronoa "Pirate Hunter" Zoro!" The gate opened and Zoro walked out, showing his confidence with the way he strode to a space in the arena. The loudest cheers, by far, were those of the Straw Hats.

"Go, Zoro!" Luffy, Franky and Brook yelled encouragingly.

"Just don't die, OK?" Nami, Usopp and Chopper moaned.

"One the other side is yet another swordsman, he's know for his constant attacks that leave no time for opponents, he's a terrifying man, with a bounty of 102,000,000 berries, it's "Devilslash" Hakuru!" The cheering continued as out of the other gate came a man with dark hair and two swords on his belt. Zoro grinned. This would be a good fight.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Here's Chapter 6, sooner than most of these chapters have been, so that's good, right? Finally, the Straw Hats get some action. Zoro does anyway. If there is anything I could have done better with the fight, let me know. Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy it :)**

The Tournament of Legends

Chapter 1

"The battle will begin in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, FIGHT!" the commentator announced. Zoro drew all three of his katana, placing Wado Ichimonji in his mouth. Hakuru also drew his swords. The two pirates ran at each other and their blades clashed. Their speed was hard to follow as they slashed and parried for what seemed like ages. Zoro noticed an opening and, taking his chance, slashed at Hakuru's right shoulder.

"Oh, wow, first blood!" Luffy cried in triumph. "I knew he was gonna win from the start!"

"He's not won yet," Usopp reminded him, although he was glad the green-haired swordsman had the upper hand.

Hakuru grunted and Zoro saw that his right arm was moving slower after it had been injured. They jumped away from eachother to catch their breath. The dark-haired man examined his cut whilst keeping an eye on his enemy.

 _OK, time to finish this,_ Zoro thought. He sheathed two swords and then sprinted towards Hakuru, left hand on Sandai Kitetsu. To most of the crowd, it would appear Zoro had merely ran past Hakuru, however, as soon as Hakuru heard his opponent state "Finished," he knew it was over. The audience watched the man's chest split open and he fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Well, that was impressive," the commentator remarked. "The winner of this match is the Pirate Hunter himself. Congratulations!"

The crowd cheered, loudest of all being six of the eight watching Straw Hats. Robin smiled, not one for really letting herself go like that. Sanji grunted, saying "Not bad for a marimo." The swordsman grinned.

"See?" Luffy shouted happily. "He won, he won!"

"Yeah, pretty awesome," agreed Usopp.

"I'm so glad!" Chopper sighed.

"Yes! We're one step closer to the treasure!" Nami smiled.

"He did well, didn't he?" Robin added.

"That was a SUPER win!" Franky yelled, pulling his super pose.

"I have confidence he will do well in the rest of the tournament," Brook said calmly.

"Could've been quicker, maybe," Sanji grinned.

They watched Zoro exit through the gate he came out of and then begin to leave as well.

* * *

The other two pirates in Group 1 weren't too difficult for Zoro. Devin proved a problem with his thick skin and ignorance of pain but a well-placed stab to the chest brought him down. Daggar, on the other hand, was too easy for Zoro, not having fully recovered from his fight with Devin. The swordsman deflected his knives without trouble and then aimed for his wounds which left the knife-thrower on the ground, unable to move. With three wins, Zoro secured himself a place in the next round.

Group 2 was rather boring for the Straw Hats. Apparently someone thought it would be a good idea to put one 117,000,000 berry guy up against people with bounties under 5,000,000. The result was three dead men and Zoro's next opponent, although they would have to wait a while before that came around. Group 3 was the one with Nami in and she was shaking with fear as she realised it would be the next morning.

"Shit, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die," she panicked at the dinner table. The other Straw Hats were either attempting to calm her down or just eating. Robin sat next to her with her arm around the girl's shoulders.

"Don't worry, your a good fighter," she told her soothingly. On Nami's other side Usopp was also trying to help.

"Hey, even if they beat you, it's not a death match so you'll probably survive."

"That's not helping, idiot," Zoro said, although he didn't have anything better to say to the navigator.

"Nami-swan, if they hurt you, I'll kill them for you," Sanji offered.

"You can't interfere with the fight though," Franky reminded him.

"It's OK, Sanji-kun, I know you mean well," Nami told him with a shaky smile.

"Oi, Nami," Luffy called her in between mouthfuls of meat. "I know you can win, I'll cheer for you!" He gave her his trademark grin.

"How can you know that?" she asked him.

"Cause you haven't drawn your map of the world yet! And because you want to win the money, right?" Nami couldn't help but feel better after that.

"Thanks, I'll do my best," she promised, wiping her eyes.

Nami did not sleep well that night. Even after the encouraging words from her crew, nightmares of being skewered by swords and blasted by guns haunted her until morning.

The navigator awoke with a start. Her clock told her it was thirteen minutes past nine. Her match began at ten. Hurriedly, she put on her clothes and ran down to the mess hall, passing by her coach, Sensei, who said "Good luck." Nami tried to eat as much as she could but her stomach felt horribly tight and eventually she gave up. She tried to think about the money to calm herself but it didn't work very well. Looking at the big clock on the wall, she saw the time was eight to ten. Nami gulped.

"Well, I guess I had better go then," she sighed. "See you in the next life, guys."

"Good luck!"

"I believe in you!"

"Go, Nami, show 'em how SUPER you are!"

"Don't die, OK?"

The orange-haired girl left her friends, ready to give it her all. She had to win this. She didn't want to die. She entered the waiting room where the gate showed her the arena, her deathbed. A woman stood there with what appeared to be an ink stamp.

"Uh, hi?" Nami hazarded.

"Good morning, Cat Burglar," the woman replied with a warm smile.

"What's that?"

"Oh, it's to mark you with your name. It helps the audience know who's who in the battle.

"Oh, I get it," Nami said, recalling Zoro's battles. She hadn't paid attention to it then but his name was definitely on his clothes. She supposed it was quite a good idea. "I guess that's OK then."

The woman proceeded to press the stamp on Nami's back, leaving her name in black ink.

"Hey, wait, don't you put it on our clothes?" she asked, surprised by the coldness on her skin.

"Yes, but you aren't wearing much, dear." Nami looked down. She was wearing an orange sleeveless top that exposed her stomach and a blue miniskirt. The woman had a point. Nami sighed and allowed her to continue. The stamp was placed on her left lower leg and her right arm, with a smaller one for her right hip, collerbone and forehead. "There, now you are ready."

"Uh, thanks, I guess," Nami replied.

"And now, the next battle will begin soon!" the commentator boomed, making the navigator jump. Her fearful shiver returned "First, a woman known for her love of money and her exceptional ability to take it, cold and heartless, with a bounty of 16,000,000 berries, it's "Cat Burglar" Nami!" The crowd cheered and many men were knocked out by the power of love.

The gate creaked open and Nami crept out, glancing at all the faces in the crowd. She saw her friends, Luffy, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper and Robin giving her encouraging smiles while Franky went for a thumbs-up. Brook waved while Zoro stared impassively. She gulped. This was it. She gripped her Clima Tact tightly.

"And on the other side is a girl not many people know as she never speaks. She has a terrifying punch and, while she has no bounty, she is a force to be reckoned with. Do not be fooled by her name, it's "Nightcreeper" Butterfly!" The crowd roared with excitement at the rookie. Who knew what she could do? Out walked a figure shrouded by a ragged grey cloak.

"Butterfly? No bounty?" Nami couldn't believe it. Had she gotten lucky? The figure pulled down her hood revealing a youthful face, blond hair and "156" tattooed on the left side of her face. "A kid? Seriously?" The navigator had been worrying about nothing! A bountyless child going by the name "Butterfly" was not what she was expecting. However, she did notice one of Butterfly's hands was made of metal. A cyborg. Nami prayed that was the only mechanical part of the girl's body.

Sanji, meanwhile, burst into tears. "I can't watch! How can I watch a cute girl fighting another cute girl? Who do I root for?"

"Root for Nami, dumbass," Zoro told him. "She's probably one of those ones who seems like a small fry but is actually crazy powerful."

"Y-you think so?" Usopp stammered.

"Maybe."

"Now let the battle begin in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, FIGHT!"


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Here's Chapter 7. They will be more frequent now since school is over for ten weeks and I have a somewhat decent plan of how I'll write this. Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy it :)**

The Tournament of Legends

Chapter 7

"5, 4, 3, 2, 1, FIGHT!"

At first, neither girl attacked. Both were analysing their enemy, looking for weak spots and stuff. Nami had not come across many cyborgs in her life. She had met two. First, her friend and fellow Straw Hat, Franky. Franky had crazy strength and even crazier firepower. The other was the Shichibukai Bartholomew Kuma. He had an almost indestructible body and the ability to, as far as she knew, make people disappear. Nami hoped this one wasn't like Franky or Kuma.

Either way, she needed to work out how to take her out. She had mixed feelings about hurting a kid who looked like she'd barely started her teenage years. On the one hand, if Nami didn't fight her, the girl would still fight Nami. On the other hand, it seemed a bit cruel to use a weapon like the Clima-Tact against an apparently unarmed kid. She decided she'd go easy on her.

Butterfly launched herself at Nami, not giving the navigator any time to react and began furiously punching her with her mechanical fist. Nami desperately tried to block the metallic meteor with her Clima-Tact but the cyborg was relentless. The orange-haired girl felt sudden streaks of pain from her stomach, her arms, her shoulders and then Butterfly got a hit in her face. Nami screamed and managed to shove the younger girl off her after a Thunder Ball made contact with the cyborg. They both groaned.

Nami staggered to her feet, blood dripping on the ground with every jerking movement. She had lost sight in her left eye after the punch to her forehead had allowed the blood to pour into it and down the side of her face. She ached all over but she knew she couldn't die. She had to win. She watched as the young cyborg stood up, breathing heavily. Despite her current state, Nami grinned. She had just figured out Butterfly's weakness.

Before the blonde girl could do anything, Nami pointed her Clima-Tact up to the air and yelled **"Thunderbolt Tempo** **!"**

Butterfly looked up. Since when was the sky cloudy? The grey cloud crackled with yellow electricity and suddenly a bolt of lightning struck the ground at her feet.

"AAAAGGGHHH!" the girl screamed as thousands of volts coursed through her body. Nami knew it would only be intensified by the metal appendage that was an incredible conductor. After the lightning passed, the girl's body stood smoking for a bit, and then fell backwards onto the ground, unconscious. The navigator sighed in relief.

"And it looks like we have a winner!" the commentator announced cheerfully. "Well done to the Cat Burglar for making it through!" The crowd cheered and the Straw Hats shouted encouraging comments to Nami.

"Nami, I told you you'd win!" Luffy smiled.

"That was some pretty crafty stuff!" Zoro grinned.

"Nami, you'll have some awesome battle scars from this!" Usopp told her

""Nami-swan, are you OK?" Sanji asked worriedly.

"Nami, I'm so happy you did it!" Chopper squealed.

"Well done, Navigator-san," Robin congratulated.

"That was SUPER brave of you just there!" Franky shouted.

"You will definitely do well in this tournament if you keep that up!" Brook said.

Nami smiled. She then turned to Butterfly who had not woken up. When she was still and peaceful like that, Nami supposed the girl was rather cute. "I'm sorry," she whispered to the child. Nami then left the arena, proud of her first victory and first step towards that 5,000,000 berries.

* * *

Nami barely made it to the hospital ward before she collapsed from the injuries. She woke up a few hours later in a white bed with bandages around her body and covering her damaged eye. She was told it would all heal but she'd have to wait a while. Nami spent the next day in bed thinking about how she still had two more battles before she even made it out of the groups. She saw Butterfly on another bed next to her. The cyborg girl was also covered in bandages and the lightning strike seemed to have given her a few nasty burns. Luckily, she looked like she'd also survive, although her mechanical hand was destroyed completely.

* * *

Nami's second fight went reasonably well, considering she hadn't fully recovered from the beating she took before. It was with a guy worth 9,000,000 berries and Nami managed to leave the arena practically unscathed. It was her third fight that surprised the entire audience, and in fact everyone who knew about it.

The navigator entered the arena at the announcement of her name and faced her opponent, 13,000,000 berry Icer Meister. She was, once again, shaking with fear to begin with. Icer Meister proceeded to point what looked like an alarmingly huge gun which made Nami hold her arms in front of her face in a feeble attempt to block the projectile.

Suddenly, she felt something cold and wet cover her head to toe. She looked up. The scary gun had shot bright pink icing at her.

"What?" she asked, half to herself. The navigator licked some of the icing off her arm and tasted the sweetest thing she had ever come across. The confident-looking Icer Meister shot her again. "Um, is that seriously your weapon?" she asked.

"Yes it is. Too much of this covers you, it'll harden like steel. There'll be no way out after that."

The girl looked back down at the icing that coated most of her body. It did feel a bit stiff. She moved her body so that the pink icing cracked and broke off. It hadn't solidified completely yet which was fortunate. Two more blasts from the "Sugar Cannon" were narrowly dodged by Nami as she tried to come up with a plan. She had been toying with an idea for a while now but she didn't think the other Straw Hats would like it much. Then again, what was more important? Her life or pleasing her friends? They always found something to complain about anyway.

 _OK,_ Nami thought. _Let's do it, then._

The next time her enemy shot icing at her, Nami did not dodge. Instead, she opened her mouth wide and let it in, swallowing the wonderful treat. Not only would she beat this guy, she'd also get a free snack. Icer Meister began to send a stream of the liquid sugar at the navigator who let it down her throat and into her stomach. The more that went in, the bigger Nami's belly got. The crowd watched open-mouthed as the orange-haired girl began to expand, particularly around the middle. Icer Meister hadn't noticed so the stream kept coming and Nami kept drinking. There was such little time to swallow, that it started dripping down her face and bulging cheeks. In less than five minutes, Nami had grown at least ten times her original size.

"Oh, not this again," Zoro growled. Hadn't the idiot learned her lesson last time?

"Nami-swan... please don't do this," Sanji moaned, slightly losing the will to live.

"Grrr, Nami's so greedy!" Luffy shouted. He desperately wanted to eat, even after his third breakfast.

The audience then watched the huge navigator fall on top of the gunman and everyone heard a nasty crunch as the weight Nami had gained squashed Icer Meister into the ground.

"Um," the commentator was momentarily lost for words. "It looks like we have a winner! Congratulations to the Cat Burglar for winning her third match. She has made it to the second round! She also wins the prize for the most bizarre victory in the history of the Tournament of Legends!" The crowd roared with both applause and laughter. The only downside for Nami was that she had to be rolled out of the arena by a few workers in front of everybody.

* * *

Group 4 was won by an incredibly crafty man. He had a devil fruit that was essentially his only means of combat but, of course, devil fruits didn't work here. What he did was steal his opponents' weapons and use them against them, leaving his opponents defenceless. His name was "Backstabber" Mujōna. Unfortunately, this was Nami's next opponent.

* * *

During dinner, Chopper didn't eat much. It was clear why. His group, Group 5, was next.

"Guys, I-I don't know if I can do it!" he mumbled.

"Sure you can," said Nami, who had started losing her increased weight. "I didn't think I could but I did anyway!"

"F-fine, I'll do my best," Chopper said, putting on a brave face. He prayed his tactic would work, or else he'd be screwed. He had to do this, though. To prove himself a strong man. To prove he was worthy of being a Straw Hat. And to win all that money! Maybe if he was the one to win it, Nami would share it with him? Chopper used this idea to calm himself and he started to eat his meal.


End file.
